How Civil List millions are spent

The cost of garden parties has risen considerably

The £7.9m a year the Royal Family receives from the Civil List is spent on things as diverse as laundry to stationery for garden party invitations.

Although Prime Minister Tony Blair announced on Tuesday the money for the list has been frozen for a further 10 years, the cost of many of the Royal Family's outgoings has been rising.

In 1991 the Royal Family spent £284,513 on food but it is expected to spend £393,544 in 2000.

Spending increases 1991-2000

Wine and spirits: £66,178 to £120,399

Tent hire: £74,912 to £139,810.

Stationery for invitations: £11,728 to £13,200.

Official presents: £466 to £24,500.

Salaries: £3,381,710 to £4,709,971.

The money spent of wines and spirits has leapt in 10 years from £66,178 to £120,399.

The cost of crockery and cutlery has also gone up from £10,652 to £17,800.

Garden parties are a regular feature of the Royal Family's year and they are proving more expensive to hold.

The cost of hiring tents has gone up from £74,912 to £139,810 and the cost of stationery for invitations has risen from £11,728 to £13,200.

But the Royal Family's efforts at reducing its costs has also seen some noticeable drops in expenditure.

The royal household's laundry bill has gone down from £60,265 to £59,450 and the cost of linen has dropped from £16,969 to £15,250.

Spending on food has risen by £110,000 in 10 years

The price of furnishings at the Royal palaces has also dropped, down from £132,284 to £102,884.

And the money spent by the Royal Family on computers has dropped from £98,629 to nothing.

But the travelling that the Royal Family does takes up a large chunk of its finances.

Money spent on carriage horses has leapt from £8,000 to £12,000.

The cost of car hire rose from £37,711 to £39,566 and, like everyone else in the UK, the rising cost of petrol has also hit the Royal Family.

Royal savings 1991-2000

Laundry: £60,265 to £59,450.

Linen: £16,969 to £15,250.

Furnishings: £132,284 to £102,884.

Computers: £98,629 to £0.

They now spend £43,150 on fuel as opposed to £25,013 in 1991.

The Royal Family also has to spend money on uniforms and protective clothing which has gone up from £66,847 to £82,631.

The outgoings on flowers has risen from £23,250 to £30,000.

And the money spent on official presents has gone up from a miserly £466 in 1991 to £24,500.

The cost of establishing a press cuttings services has risen from nothing to £26,450.

And the money spent on legal advice and other professional services is up from £18,615 to £72,125.

The Royal Family has also seen an increase in the amount of salaries it pays out to its staff, rising from £3,381,710 to £4,709,971.